A History of Drifts: Major Snows in America

People walk through Central Park during a snowstorm February 10, 2010 in New York City.
(Getty Images)

The nation's capital has been shut down this week, again, after receiving more than 50 inches of snow. It's the biggest snowfall ever recorded in D.C. history. The storm has also paralyzed most of the Northeast.

“
Every part of the country has different perceptions based on their expectations, and that's probably the number one way in which weather affects history -- it creates expectations about the normal, and then it challenges those expectations every once in a while.